Send that cutie who lives two apartments down the hall an anonymous message with new webapp HadToSay.com. Here’s how it works: you register for a free account at HadToSay, write your message, and send the message ID and PIN to the recipient via “masked” email or by printing out a card. (See the video for the card bit; it’s pretty darn cute.) Your recipient goes to HadToSay.com, enters their message ID and PIN, and they retrieve your message and optionally post a response. You never enter your or your recipient’s names, which is a good thing, because all messages are public and browseable. Looks like a fun way to send your special someone a little something to make them smile. As with all anonymous messaging tools, this could be used for good or evil—don’t be evil. HadToSay.com
Instant messaging and email are great ways to quickly get ideas and notices across quickly to co-workers, but sometimes an actual, real-time chat session can save you time on replies and confusion. ChatMaker, a free web chat application, instantly creates online chat rooms after you type in the name for one. Inviting others into the chat is as simple as sending them a human-readable URL, and nobody has to sign up or answer an invitation email. The chat interface is simple and familiar, but you don’t get as much flexibility and control as with more old-school solutions like Internet Relay Chat. ChatMaker is a free web service, no sign-up required. For more group chat options, check out Google Talk and the (very) similar ChatCreator.
ChatMaker [via MakeUseOf.com]When getting things done involves making phone calls, you want to spend the least amount of time and money on the horn as possible—and several tricks and services can help you do just that. With the right tones, keypresses, phone numbers, and know-how, you can skip through or cut off long-winded automated voice systems and humans, access web services by voice, and smartly screen incoming calls. Check out our pick of the 10 best telephony techniques for getting more done in less time over the phone.
Communication begins with good listening skills. Strong listeners are more empathetic and are better at solving problems. If you’re looking to better your listening skills, consider the following: wait for the person to open up, ask empowering questions, be patient, and remove all distractions. It helps to reiterate what is said:
Summarise and restate: It is also very useful to summarise what the speaker is saying and restate it in your own words. This is a form of reassuring the speaker that you have truly been listening to what he or she is saying. It also provides the speaker with an opportunity to correct any mistaken assumptions or misconceptions that have may have arisen during the course of the conversation..
Everyone has different ways of listening and expressing themselves. Try what works best for you. What are your best listening strategies? Share them with us in the comments.
How to Be a Good Listener [wikiHow]Blogger Brett Kelly says you should stop wasting your callers’ time and shorten your voicemail greeting to the bare essentials—no music, no cutesy stuff, no obvious information like “I’m not available to take your call right now.” In the end, he recommends simply saying your name and phone number. While I’m just as cranky as he is about time-wasting greetings, that seems a bit too curt. What’s in your voicemail greeting? Let us know in the comments. (If long greetings drive you nutso, there are ways to skip long greetings and get right to the beep.)
How to Make Your Outgoing Voicemail Message Not Suck [The Cranking Widgets Blog]Blogger Gretchen Rubin lists seven topics of conversation to avoid if you don’t want to be a bore. She writes: Unless you get a truly enthusiastic response from your interlocutor—which is possible—be very wary of recounting…
1. A dream.
2. The recent changes in your child’s nap schedule.
3. The route you took to get here.
4. An excellent meal you once had at a restaurant.
5. The latest additions to your wine cellar.
6. An account of your last golf game.
7. The plot of a movie, play, or movie—in particular, the funny parts.
Couldn’t pass this one up because it is spot on, if aimed at wine cellar-owning, golf-playing types. Any other topics of conversations that make you want to nod off? Let’s educate the bores! Post ‘em up in the comments.
Seven topics to avoid if you don’t want to risk being a bore. [The Happiness Project]You can avoid many possible miscommunication issues with the people you work with simply by checking in frequently. Productivity blog Bootstrapper has more:
Whether it’s a simple e-mail once a week or a quick phone call every few days, constantly checking in with your clients will actually save you time over the long run. Handling little tasks as they come up means that you won’t have to deal with huge problem later on because you weren’t attentive enough.
It’s that old “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” principle. Have you seen this work in your own dealings with clients and/or colleagues? Let’s hear how it worked out in the comments.
101 Little Hacks to Help You Get Your Work Finished More Quickly [Bootstrapper]About to email a tirade flaming your co-worker for the rude, abrupt message he just sent you? Wait. The New York Times reports on the psychological reasons why email is so easily misread and misunderstood: Face-to-face interaction, by contrast [to on-screen interaction] , is information-rich. We interpret what people say to us not only from their tone and facial expressions, but also from their body language and pacing, as well as their synchronisation with what we do and say.
Next time you’re trying to make a convincing argument, close a sale, win a debate or simply get someone else to do something you want them too, check out blogger Scott H. Young’s four insights into what makes people tick. While these are pretty oversimplified to explain all human behavior, they’re all still true in some respect:
Rule One: People Mostly Care About Themselves
Rule Two: People are Motivated by Selfish Altruism
Rule Three: People Don’t Think Much
Rule Four: Conformity is the Norm
Out of all these rules, selfish altruism rang the most true to me, especially here on Lifehacker with all the advice and tips flying back and forth between editors and commenters. Any rules you’d add to this list? Shout ‘em out in the comments.
Four Rules to Understand What Makes People Tick [lifehack.org]
